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	<title>EthicalCensus News</title>
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	<description>Scotland&#039;s Census 2011 - Stand Up &#38; Don&#039;t be Counted</description>
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		<title>Barbara Dowling&#8217;s census trial re-scheduled for 25 September</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/barbara-dowlings-census-trial-set-for-25-september/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/barbara-dowlings-census-trial-set-for-25-september/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 19:58:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Photo copyright &#169; the justified sinner Barbara Dowling is being charged under the Census Act, accused of not filling in her census form properly. At an intermediate diet held at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday her trial, scheduled for Tuesday 15 May, was re-scheduled for 25 September. A big thank you to supporters who came along to the intermediate diet, and to everyone who helped spread the word. See you in September! Row over census firm&#8217;s Abu Ghraib connection A HUMAN rights group is calling for a public inquiry into the decision to award the census contract to a firm whose parent company is linked with a notorious Iraqi prison&#8230;. Article from The Herald, Saturday 12 May. Census Trail adjourned Barbara&#8217;s trial has been adjourned. Meanwhile, former Abu Ghraib prisoners have won a landmark ruling in a US federal appeal court allowing them to continue their efforts to seek justice in US courts for CACI&#8217;s alleged involvement in their torture Census Trial adjourned as pressure grows over census firm&#8217;s Abu Ghraib links]]></description>
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		<title>Support Barbara in Court 14/15 May</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/support-barbara-in-court-1415-may/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/support-barbara-in-court-1415-may/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2012 20:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Photo copyright &#169; rassac 2pm Monday 14 May, Glasgow Sheriff Court (intermediate diet) 10am Tuesday 15 May, Glasgow Sheriff Court (trial diet) Barbara Dowling is being charged under the Census Act, accused of not filling in her census form properly. Please try to come along to the intermediate diet on Monday, as well as being ready to come along to the full trial if it goes ahead as scheduled on Tuesday. Even if you can only come for a short time, please come and show your support outside the court. Important issues about how the case will be handled (including whether Barbara&#8217;s lawyer will be able to call witnesses in her defence) will be decided at the intermediate diet. A good show of support will make it more likely that the court will give Barbara the opportunity to mount a just and effective defence. Many Scots failed to complete their census forms last year in protest at the involvement in the census of CACI Ltd, a UK subsidiary of a US company implicated in serious human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq in 2003-2004. Many tens of thousands of Scottish households failed to return a census form. But Barbara is one of just 5 people to have been taken to court over Scotland&#8217;s census. Selective enforcement of the law is unacceptable. The charges should be dropped. &#8220;The Scottish government, and any government with a principled stance, should not be going near any firm with such associations, even indirectly. The government is opening itself up to significant and justified protest. Ordinary members of the public could refuse to have anything to do with the census. A boycott is something to be considered. It would be a legitimate step. We cannot ignore our principles.&#8221; &#8211; Solicitor Advocate John Scott, 2008 &#8220;Now it seems the Scottish government is already closing its eyes to what is going on overseas. Would we say it was OK if a firm connected to Mugabe was hired to run our census? It is unacceptable that they have been hired. This will horrify most ordinary people It is unacceptable that the Scottish government should be selling its soul to an organisation accused of torturing human beings.&#8221; &#8211; Solicitor Aamer Anwar, 2008 Background to the case Barbara&#8217;s trial was initially scheduled for 26 January 2012, but the Procurator Fiscal asked for the trial to be delayed, against Barbara&#8217;s wishes. On 19 March 2012 Barbara was sentenced in Dumbarton Sheriff Court to 3 months in jail for painting &#8220;political graffiti&#8221; on the walls of the court following a 2010 trial in which she felt the court had refused to give serious consideration to international law regarding the illegality of the Trident nuclear weapon system. She was released earlier this month.]]></description>
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		<title>Just 5 prosecutions over Scotland&#8217;s Census</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/just-5-prosecutions-over-scotlands-census/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/just-5-prosecutions-over-scotlands-census/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:27:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=298</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Press Release from Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC The Crown Office says that it has brought proceedings against just 5 people for not complying with Scotland&#8217;s 2011 census. One person, whose identity is unknown, has been convicted. One case has ended without a conviction. Three cases are still going through the courts. One of them involves Barbara Dowling, of Glasgow and one involves Mary Reid, of Falkirk. A third person, whose identity is unknown, is being prosecuted in Greenock. The number of people who didn&#8217;t return census forms, or returned incomplete census forms, is sure to be far higher than this. In the last census, in 2001, over 200,000 people were estimated to have been missed. SACC opposed the involvement of defence contractor CACI in the census and encouraged people to protest by withholding co-operation from the census. SACC is now calling for all census prosecutions to be dropped. CACI is implicated in torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Richard Haley, Chair of SACC, said: &#8220;I hope that the tiny number of prosecutions in Scotland is a sign that the Register Office is embarrassed at having contracted census work to a company involved in human rights abuses. These five people have been picked out of thousands to save the Register Office&#8217;s face. It&#8217;s completely unjust that they should be scape-goated in this arbitrary way. &#8220;The single person so far convicted might have grounds for appeal based on the arbitrary way that that the Census Act is being enforced in Scotland. &#8220;It can&#8217;t possibly serve the public interest for the Crown Office to continue with the three cases currently before the courts. It should drop the charges.&#8221; Notes The statistics on prosecutions were provided by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in response to a Freedom of Information request. The figures are as follows, and cover the whole of Scotland, to 2 Feb 2012: Number of persons reported [on suspicion of offence under the Census Act in connection with Scotland's 2011 census: Falkirk: 1 Glasgow: 2 Greenock: 2 Number of persons convicted]: Glasgow: 1 Number of persons not convicted: Greenock: 1 Number of persons currently being prosecuted/tried: Falkirk: 1 Glasgow: 1 Greenock: 1]]></description>
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		<title>Evidence against alleged Census refusers may be inadmissible, says Procurator Fiscal</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/evidence_may_be_inadmissible/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/evidence_may_be_inadmissible/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:41:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=274</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Surprise legal development could undermine census trials throughout the UK - Barbara Dowling&#8217;s trial adjourned Update 6 Feb 2012: The Advocate General&#8217;s office says the Akram case has not been referred by the Advocate General to the Supreme Court, and that &#8220;we understand that the case has been referred back to the Sheriff at Glasgow so that it might be re-argued.&#8221; So it seems the PF was mistaken &#8211; and perhaps over-anxious to delay Barbara&#8217;s case. Revised 30 January 2012 &#8211; see Note 2 at the end of this item &#169; Julia Davidson The trial of a Glasgow woman accused of failing to fill in her census form properly was adjourned today at the request of the Procurator Fiscal. Barbara Dowling appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court expecting to defend herself against charges that she had committed a criminal offence by failing to fill her census form in properly in protest at the involvement in the census of defence and intelligence contractor CACI. CACI is implicated in human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and has so far ducked responsibility by claiming legal immunity as a US government contractor. The Procurator Fiscal asked for the trial to be adjourned pending the outcome of a case before the UK Supreme Court which could make evidence collected by Register Office staff inadmissible. The case that derailed the trial began in September 2011 when a Glasgow Sheriff considered whether Mrs Akram, a woman charged with housing benefit and income support fraud, was being denied the right to a fair trial because she didn&#8217;t have legal representation when interviewed by officers of the Department for Work and Pensions and Glasgow City Council. The defendant, Mrs Akram, lost her case, but the Sheriff&#8217;s decision stated that legal principles entitling suspects interviewed by police to legal advice also apply to &#8220;reporting agencies&#8221; such as housing authorities. The Akram case was today said by the Procurator Fiscal to be pending in the Supreme Court and could affect &#8220;reporting agencies&#8221; such as Customs and Excise and local councils throughout the UK. It could also affect census cases currently going through the courts in England and Wales. A census case involving a woman named Mary Reid is due to be heard at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Monday 30 January. That case may also have to be adjourned. SACC is campaigning for all cases connected with the 2011 census to be dropped. Richard Haley, Chair of SACC, said: &#8220;The census is turning into a legal train-crash as well as an ethical and political one. Former Iraqi prisoners who say they were tortured by CACI staff are still trying, more than 7 years on, to get CACI to answer for its actions in US courts. It&#8217;s a disgrace that the Crown Office has so far been determined to rush to court with cases against principled ordinary people who have harmed no one. Today&#8217;s move gives the Crown Office a chance to think again. It should drop all the charges.&#8221; Notes <a href='http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/evidence_may_be_inadmissible/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
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		<title>Support Barbara in Court &#8211; victimised over Scottish census</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/support-barbara-in-court-victimised-over-scottish-census/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/support-barbara-in-court-victimised-over-scottish-census/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:34:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=257</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Barbara Dowling is being charged under the Census Act, accused of not filling in her census form properly. Her intermediate diet was held on Tue 10 January and her case is going ahead to trial. Barbara will be defending herself. The trial will be at 10am in Court 16, Glasgow Sheriff Court Thursday 26 January Countless Scots have either failed to fill in their census forms or returned them partially completed or improved by critical comments, but have not been prosecuted. Barbara&#8217;s victimisation is inexplicable. Please make a date in your diary to come along and support her. And please tell your friends. Barbara will also be in court on 25 Jan over non-payment of a fine incurred for blockading Faslane nuclear submarine base. Barbara is refusing to pay the fine and risks a jail sentence: 10am 25th January, Dumbarton Sheriff Court &#8211; support in court welcome More about the Faslane blockade]]></description>
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		<title>Abu Ghraib Torture Victims Renew Challenge to Corporate Impunity</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/abu-ghraib-torture-victims-renew-challenge-to-corporate-impunity/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/abu-ghraib-torture-victims-renew-challenge-to-corporate-impunity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:37:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=252</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Source CCR Press Release December 20, 2011, New York – Last night, attorneys for Iraqi torture victims abused in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison and other detention centers in Iraq challenged two private military contractors’ claims to immunity from being sued on the grounds that their alleged torture occurred during wartime. Today, a coalition of groups, including retired military officers and human rights NGO’s and experts, supported their claims by filing amicus briefs that argue that for-profit corporations cannot be considered equivalent to U.S. soldiers and should face justice under traditional legal principles governing any illegal conduct. Said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney Katherine Gallagher, “Our plaintiffs – innocent Iraqi civilians – were subjected to horrifying acts of torture because these multi-billion-dollar corporations violated military policies and U.S. law prohibiting torture and other war crimes. We are in no way challenging battlefield conduct, but rather, our plaintiffs seek accountability for gratuitous and sadistic acts of violence by private companies in Iraq for profit.” The lawsuits charge that the two U.S. corporations directed and participated in illegal conduct at Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq, including subjecting plaintiffs to electric shocks, sexual assaults, forced nudity, broken bones, and deprivation of oxygen, food and water. Originally filed in 2008, the two federal lawsuits, Al-Shimari v. CACI and Al-Quraishi v. Nakhla, were brought on behalf of 76 Iraqis who were subjected to abuse and torture in Iraq by employees of the corporations, CACI and L-3. In both cases, the district court ruled the claims could proceed to discovery. The two cases are now being consolidated for the Court of Appeals to assess whether corporate defendants can invoke the immunity available to the United States government and military in order to evade legal, moral and financial responsibility for their role in one of the most notorious episodes in recent American history. The corporations, which had been hired to provide interpretation and interrogation services, argue their actions are protected under the mantle of sovereign immunity and thus beyond review of the courts because they are “combatant military activities.” Court martial and other testimony from soldiers convicted of serious abuse in Iraq directly link both companies to instances of torture. Said Shereef Akeel of Akeel &#038; Valentine PLC, “A key principle is at stake here, which is that no one is above the law. It has been a 7 years struggle and these corporate defendants have not yet been held accountable for their involvement in the Abu-Gharib torture scandal.” Support from Retired Military Officers Also filed today were four amicus briefs in support of the plaintiffs, including a brief by retired military officers expressing their concern, “that persons engaging in shocking behavior that the U.S. military does not itself tolerate for its own members have broad impunity from accountability.” Their brief also argues that, “[because] they are not subjected to the same standards of accountability as are members of the military, private contractors do not merit the immunity afforded to sovereign governmental entities.” <a href='http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2012/abu-ghraib-torture-victims-renew-challenge-to-corporate-impunity/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
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		<title>Justice Denied &#8211; US Courts give impunity to torturers</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/justice-denied-us-supreme-court-gives-impunity-to-torturers/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/justice-denied-us-supreme-court-gives-impunity-to-torturers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:49:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=242</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IF YOU ARE BEING PROSECUTED FOR RESISTING SCOTLAND&#8217;S CENSUS, PLEASE LET US KNOW Contact EthicalCensus Scottish Census contractor and human rights abuser CACI has won its battle for immunity from US law. On 21 September 2011 a US Federal Appeals Court in Virginia dismissed the case brought against CACI by 4 former Abu Ghraib prisoners (&#8220;Al Shimari v CACI International&#8221;). They did so not because they rejected the evidence against CACI, but because they believed CACI&#8217;s integration into the US military renders it immune to this sort of lawsuit. The ruling follows the pattern set by a US Supreme Court ruling in June. At the end of June 2011 the US Supreme Court refused to overturn a decision by a federal appeals court preventing former Abu Ghraib detainees from bringing a lawsuit ( &#8220;Saleh et al v. Titan et al &#8220;) against CACI International Incorporated and Titan Corporation (now L-3 Services) over their alleged torture. The appeals court had ruled in January 2010 that contractors are shielded from lawsuits for wartime activities that are closely supervised by the military. In April 2010 lawyers for the former detainees filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 4, 2010, the Supreme Court invited the Acting Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the views of the US administration. Unsurprisingly, the Solicitor General took the view that the petition should be denied. On June 27, 2011, the Supreme Court issued an order denying the petition for certiorari, thereby ending this case and allowing the earlier appeals court ruling to stand.More about the case Members of the military have faced court-martial proceedings for events at Abu Ghraib, but no private contractors have faced criminal charges. A second closely-related case (&#8220;Al Shimari v. CACI et al.&#8221;) was ordered in March 2011 to be held in abeyance pending the outcome of the Saleh v Titan case. On 21 September 2011, the Appeals Court in Virginia dismissed the case in a 2-1 majority ruling, saying that the claim by the former prisoners was &#8220;preempted by federal law.&#8221; The dissenting judge, Robert King, was sharply critical of the majority view, saying &#8220;the majority makes no attempt to conceal the sweeping breadth of the preemption doctrine it adopts today.&#8221; Read the full ruling The US has now blocked all forms of redress in U.S. courts for hundreds of victims of the U.S. torture program. To date, no victim of post-9/11 policies has been allowed his day in court. The Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents the former Abu Ghraib detaineees, said after the June Supreme Court ruling: &#8220;&#8230; this marks an end to the U.S.’s claim that no other country may exercise jurisdiction over crimes of torture perpetrated by Americans. Where justice is denied in the United States, universal jurisdiction and the Convention Against Torture allow prosecutions in other nations.&#8221; So now it&#8217;s up to us. CACI doesn&#8217;t deserve to chalk up a successful census in Scotland and return to business as usual. <a href='http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/justice-denied-us-supreme-court-gives-impunity-to-torturers/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
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		<title>GROS &#8211; no view on human rights issues</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/gros_no_view-on_human_rights/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/gros_no_view-on_human_rights/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 May 2011 12:15:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=230</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In response to a freedom of information request, the National Records Office of Scotland says that the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) does not not have a view on whether sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, intimidation by dogs and the enforcement of stress positions are human rights abuses. GROS obviously doesn&#8217;t know right from wrong. The National Records Office of Scotland is a new body created on 1 April 2011 by the merging of the General Register Office for Scotland with the National Archives of Scotland. The National Records Office also says that Scottish Ministers weren&#8217;t informed until 12 June 2008 of the Registrar General&#8217;s decision to give the census contract to CACI - just 5 days before the contract award was announced. And it says that Scottish Ministers asked only that GROS &#8220;explore the scope of reducing CACI (UK)&#8217;s involvement, particularly with personal census data, to the absolute minimum consistent with the contract.&#8221; It seems that GROS was never asked by Scottish Minsters to reconsider its decision or to explore the possibility of cancelling the contract. It&#8217;s now clear that the procurement process, and the handling of subsequent public concerns, has been scandalously negligent and arrogant and that no serious consideration was ever given to the possibility of excluding CACI because of its involvement in Abu Ghraib. A full investigation into the scandal is needed. And everyone who has refused to cooperate with the census because of this scandal needs to stay firm. I&#8217;ll be making a further freedom of information request to clarify the timeline leading to the contract award and the legal advice received by GROS. I&#8217;ll also be asking National Records Office to conduct a review (as provided for by the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) ) into their responses to some of the questions &#8211; Richard &#160; Freedom of Information response from the National Records Office of Scotland National Records Office of Scotland Census Division Ladywell House Ladywell Road Edinburgh EH12 7TF Date 4 May 2011 FOI /11/00424 Dear Mr Haley Thank you for your request dated 1 April 2011 under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for information relating to “Census contract and related matters” Please see the response below to your questions. Question 1 What contracts has GROS awarded to CACI Ltd since 1 January 2000? In each case, please let me know the date of the contract award, its duration, its value and its purpose. Answer. One: the contract for the supply of Internet services, Printing, Paper Data Capture &#38; Coding services for the 2011 Census. This was awarded in June 2008, with a value of £18.5 million, and is scheduled for completion and final de-commission of the services in April 2012. Question 2. To which companies, individuals or organisations has GROS contracted public relations, media relations or publicity work in relation to Scotland&#8217;s 2011 census? In each case, please let me know the date of the contract award, its duration, its value and its purpose. Answer. PR/media contracts for <a href='http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/gros_no_view-on_human_rights/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
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		<title>Warning Letter handed in to Registrar General</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/warning_letter_to_gros/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/warning_letter_to_gros/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 May 2011 08:45:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=224</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Friday 15 April a delegation from Scotland Against Criminalising Communities handed in a warning letter to Scotland&#8217;s Registrar General asking him to make clear that he is opposed to torture and to cruel or degrading treatment and that he recognises the abusive nature of the Abu Ghraib prison regime in which census contractor CACI was involved. Registrar General Duncan Macniven has so far refused to acknowledge that CACI&#8217;s involvement in Abu Ghraib amounted to misconduct and that CACI could have been excluded from working on Scotland&#8217;s census for that reason. Letter to Registrar General Mr Duncan Macniven New Register House 3 West Register Street Edinburgh Scotland EH1 3YT 12 April 2011 Dear Mr Macniven 2011 CENSUS I am writing to you on behalf of Scotland Against Criminalising Communities (SACC). We understand that you have indicated that you are unwilling to oppose the interrogation of prisoners in circumstances where torture or other forms of ill-treatment are intended or are likely. It may be that something is making it difficult for you to do this. If you need advice please contact SACC. We understand that CACI International, parent company to a major census contractor, is unwilling to condemn the detention and interrogation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq in 2003-2005, when abusive prison conditions were systemic, and that its employees worked there as interrogators over that period. The eradication of torture is vital for the world. The answers people give under torture are misused by governments and other organisations to justify the spending of billions of pounds on bombing, assassinations, kidnapping and further torture. For example, false information on links between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda, extracted under torture form a Libyan man called Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, was a crucial part of George Bush&#8217;s case for war on Iraq. Because of the global and destructive importance of torture, the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 proclaimed and adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, guaranteeing freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention, and the right to a fair and public hearing. Additionally, governments of the world agreed the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit cruel treatment and torture, as well as outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment. Furthermore, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention Against Torture, which requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture in territories under their jurisdiction and also requires states to prevent other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in territories under their jurisdiction. Taking a stand against torture is not difficult. You need only to make a statement making it clear that you are opposed to prolonged detention without legal process, that you are opposed to torture and to cruel or degrading treatment, that you recognise that participation in a system of detention and/or interrogation where these abuses are allowed, or are known to occur or are likely to occur is in most circumstances <a href='http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/warning_letter_to_gros/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
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		<title>GROS sends out warning letters</title>
		<link>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/gros_sends_warning_letters/</link>
		<comments>http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/2011/gros_sends_warning_letters/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:20:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ethical_admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.ethicalcensus.org.uk/?p=220</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Register Office (GROS) has sent warning letters to a number of people. The letters are addressed to named individuals and say &#8220;you have indicated that you are unwilling to fill in your Census questionnaire.&#8221; Some of the people who have received these letters have not in fact indicated any such thing and have not been visited by census enumerators. The use of these warning letters appears to be a departure from GROS&#8217;s normal follow-up process. The warning letters do not indicate that legal action has been initiated and do not have any particular legal significance. You do not need to respond to them &#8211; we suggest that you don&#8217;t do so. However, you may wish to make a &#8220;subject data access reques&#8221;t to GROS under the Data Protection Act, asking for all personal information that GROS holds on you,  along with the source of the information, and including any information on indications that you are willing or unwilling to fill in your Census questionnaire. Warning letter from the General Register Office for Scotland I am responsible for running the Census in Scotland and I understand that you have indicated that you are unwilling to fill in your Census questionnaire. It may be that something is making it difficult for you to do so. If you need help please phone the Census Helpline on 0300 123 1702. The Census is vital for Scotland. The answers people give to the questions are used to produce statistics that help the government and other organisations decide where billions of pounds will be spent every year &#8211; for example on services everyone needs, such as education, transport and healthcare. Because of that national importance, the Scottish Parliament unanimously decided that participation in the Census should be a legal obligation under the Census Act 1920 and the Census (Scotland) Order 2010. It is not a difficult job: it should take about 10 minutes per person. We take great care to keep confidential the personal information collected by the Census and we have an excellent record of doing so, throughout the 150 years that we have been responsible for Scotland&#8217;s Census. We do not pass the information to other government departments, or to anyone else: it is used to produce anonymised statistics. I hope this letter has made clear your legal obligation to participate in the 2011 Census and why it is so important to Scotland&#8217;s future. Because of the importance of the census, I would much rather have a completed questionnaire than a prosecution &#8211; but failure to return a completed census form is an offence under the Census Act 1920 and you may be liable to prosecution and a fine of up to £1000 if you do not do so. Yours sincerely Duncan Macniven Registrar General for Scotland General Register Office for Scotland Ladywell House, Ladywell Road, Edinburgh, EH12 7TF Tel: 0131 334 0380]]></description>
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